Illuminating Dark Shadows
by AriatheAlpha
Summary: A Riolu sets off on a journey across the Sinnoh region. Being a pokémon found by a trainer when young, other wild pokémon look up at him thinking he "forgot the ways of the wild". But there might actually be some more to Riolu's dark past as he evolves into a Lucario and joins his partners in a journey to save the world from eternal darkness.
1. Chapter 1

ILLUMINATING DARK SHADOWS

He awoke in a bright meadow. He sat up. Many pokémon were playing, some kids, others parents. He rubbed his eyes. "Good morning sweetheart." said a voice beside him. He turned around to see a Chansey smiling at him. "Hi." He said. She rubbed his forehead. "What is a little Riolu like yourself doing here?" He got up on his feet. "I… I just found this place at night. It was raining and I had nowhere to go, so I just slept here… I'm sorry if I disturbed anything…" The Chansey smiled. "It's alright. Why don't you go play with the other pokémon?" She said, gesturing to the flower meadow where a Torchic, Starly, Totodile and Bidoof were playing, surrounded by other grown pokémon. Riolu decided a bit of playing would do him good. He ran up to the young pokémon. The Torchic turned around to him. "Hi! Who are you?" She said cheerily. "My name is Riolu." He said to her. "We're playing tag. Want to join us?" She said. "Sure!" He spent a couple minutes playing tag with the other pokémon. It was a happy time, the wind blowing in his face, the flowers flying, the smell of honey in the air (Guess what town this is) and it was a fun game of tag. When suddenly…

"Hey, what's that?" said Totodile. "Golly, the wind is blowing really strong!" said Bidoof. The wind started to blow so strong that Starly's feathers were all blown back in his body. "What is happening?" He said. The sky slowly turned a scarlet red. The pokémon at this point started to panic. Some fled. The Chansey ran to the young pokémon. "Kids, this isn't safe! Please come with me!" Riolu followed along with the other pokémon. A bright red lightning flashed in the sky. Riolu jumped with fear. A dark shadow fell on Chansey and the pokémon with her. Riolu could only hear her and the pokémons' screams as the shadow engulfed them. Panicked, he ran the opposite way, away from the group. The shadow absorbed the pokémon like a UFO, the last thing he heard was their pained screams before the shadow lifted and there was nothing left. He ran as fast as he could, the shadows after him like spotlights. He could hear a creaky and thin voice behind him whisper. "Don't try to run away from me… I will find you… You… are… MINE!"

The only thing that lit his way through his escape in the forest was the red lightning that struck every now and then and lit the entire forest. Suddenly, Riolu stopped dead in his tracks as heavy rain fell on him. A dark figure hung in mid air in front of him. It was pointy and very scary. Red lightning struck again, lighting up the figure within a few mili seconds. It flashed white and purple, and its eyes were bright red. Riolu screamed. Even after the flash was gone, the creature's eyes glowed red. An eerie voice somehow made its way inside Riolu's head. "Hello, little one…" The creature started to float towards him. Rioli had nowhere to run. There was not enough time… As the creature laughed and stood upon Riolu, its eyes revealed a dark pupil inside its redness. Riolu's eyes were filled with complete panic and fear. "Your turn…" The creature spread its long, arm-like members. "To join my WORLD OF DARKNESS!" It shrieked. Suddenly, a white flash hit the creature.

Another figure envelopped in light jumped over Riolu and struck the dark creature. Riolu watched amused as the two beings fought. "Run!" The light being shouted to him before it was tackled by the dark creature to the floor. Riolu remained frozen, unable to move. The light being pushed the dark creature out of its way and picked up Riolu. "I SAID RUN!" It yelled, throwing Riolu away from the fight. Riolu then started to run. He ran through the trees, away from that horrific scene. He passed so many trees that he lost count. He crossed the river leading out of the meadow he was first in, and passed the scary-looking big building made out of grey rock. There was metal and a fire stove inside. He made it through the mountainous hill, until he entered the forest.

There, he stopped to take in air. He took a look at his surroundings. The forest had a dense fog and many more trees planted in than the ones he saw in the meadow. He approached what looked like a human sign. Thanks to his psychic abilities, he was able to read what was written in the stone tablet. "E…Eter… Eterna…For…est. Where time… flows… eterna…lly." He said out loud. So the humans call this place "Eterna Forest", huh? He kept walking. Everything seemed fine, until he passed an odd-looking human house at the end of the forest. It looked old and decayed. Its windows were purple and gloomy. It appeared to stare at him in the distance, as if he shouldn't have disturbed its slumber. A dark gas cloud flew out of the house and headed straight for him. Before Riolu could do anything, it struck him in the chest, probably a move. It knocked him out, and he fainted on the spot he was standing. The last thing he saw was a small human girl with a red bow on her head looking at him through the window.


	2. Chapter 2

A bubbly sound rang on Riolu's ears. He squinted. What a ridiculously loud noise! Why not let him sleep? He opened one eye. He quickly jumped and rose on his feet on defensive position as he saw he was surrounded by… humans! Lots of them! Males, females, children… he was in trouble. Real trouble. He remembered a pokémon telling him once before… "Don't go near humans… they're ugly and scary and do horrible things to pokémon. They capture us and make us do as they please, like slaves. They force you to battle other pokémon. They take you away to places, and there are many worse things that can happen to you…" Those words floated on the back of his head.

He could understand some of their speech. "…mommy! Mommy! I want that pokey-man…" and also, "…what kind of pokémon is that? Maybe it's rare…" as well as, "…it could be useful for my research! I'll make millions…" The many voices twisted and combined themselves into one, making Riolu's head hurt. Suddenly, a bigger, tougher looking human pushed through the crowd. He had a weird grey thing on its head with a glistening gold item on it. Its body color was also grey. "…alright, alright people, the pokémon has had enough! Go now!" The crowd slowly dispersed.

The grey human walked up to Riolu, towering over him. "Well, well, little fella, what kind of pokémon are you, hm?" He extended his hand to touch Riolu. Panicking, he bit the human's hand. The human let out a loud cry, and Riolu decided to run for it. He remembered, last time he had fainted at a place called "Eterna Forest". His eyes grew wide as this environment was completely different than any that he has ever seen.

The rocky ground was hard, and of a dark grey, almost back color. Enormously big rock structures towered over his little head. They had numerous holes cut into each one, which were then covered by a thin blueish material. Occasionally large metal structures would come zooming on the hard grey ground. One structure, however, was of a bright metallic silver-blue color, with spikes shooting out of it and a giant cut-out yellow circle moving on its top. It was terrifying. "Hey! Catch that pokémon!" He heard.

At this moment, Riolu ran to a bright orange structure that was shorter than the others. The thin blue material on its wall suddenly split in half and they tucked themselves inside the structure, allowing Riolu to step through the orange rectangle. He realized it was hollow and there was a big gap in its center, a circular rock that went all around the half of the whole building. "There he is!" The sound made Riolu's mind jump inside his head. He turned around to see dozens of grey humans now cornering him. "Take it to the day care. They'll know what to do with it." One of them said. Riolu could not even breathe properly now. "STOP!" Shouted a voice from the background.

Another human made its way to the grey humans. But this one was shorter. Its head had a red thing on it and he had a weird, long white piece of cloth flapping around on its neck. By the voice, Riolu could tell it was a young male. "Um, hello officer… um… this pokémon is mine." The "head" of the grey humans looked at him suspiciously. "Alright, sir. But do not let it roam free of its pokéball anymore." The young male human breathed deeply. "Thank you." The grey humans left the building.

Riolu had a feeling this human was not like the others. He did not have the ability read auras fully yet, but something about this human seemed… different. The young human turned to him. "Hi!" He said, smiling. Before Riolu could do anything, the human reached into one of the thing it was carrying around its neck, a wide piece of cloth that could appear to be useful to store things in, and took out a thin orange rectangle. He pressed something on the rectangle and a red light hit Riolu. Riolu jumped, but the light didn't seem to do any damage to him. "Don't be afraid. It's just a scanner." Said the human to him.

A voice suddenly spoke from the orange rectangle. "115. RIOLU." Riolu's eyes widened at the mention of his own name. "Emanation pokémon. Fighting type. Height: 2'04" Weight: 44.5 lbs." Riolu didn't understand that part. "The aura that emanates from its body intensifies to alert others if it is afraid or sad. Area: unknown."

The human's eyes widened when the rectangle said that. He looked at Riolu with wonder in its eyes. "Riolu! It's a rare pokémon!" The human then paused for a second, as if thinking what to do next. He then knelt down on the floor, now close to Riolu's same height. Riolu knew he was dangerously close to the human. He stepped back. "It's alright, you can trust me. I'm not like them." he said. Riolu was still a bit wary.

Suddenly, the entrance of the building bust open. A group of humans with blue, bowl cut hair and weird outfits came in. One of them spotted the young human and Riolu. "Hey boss! Look!" A human pushed through the crowd of blue-haired humans. Rioli could tel it was a female. She had bright pink hair tucked into a bun and half of her outfit had holes cut through them. Her eyes widened when she saw Riolu.

"Holy asteroid! Is that…" One of the humans came to her. "Yes it is, boss!" The female "boss" gestured to Riolu. "Capture that one." The young human with him turned. "No!" He said, standing over Riolu. "Step aside, kid! This pokémon now belongs to the mighty Team Galactic!" said the female boss. Two blue-haired humans shoved him aside and one tossed a ball at Riolu. It did nothing, until it sucked him in. It easily locked him inside, and he couldn't escape. "No! Wait!" This was the last thing Riolu heard the human say before he felt the ball he was in being lifted and carried somewhere.


	3. Chapter 3

Riolu felt the ball he was in being carried to an indoors place. "Put it with the others!" , he heard Commander Jupiter shout. He felt the ball being thrown in the air, and he landed painfully on a pile of objects. It made a clatter sound. He heard two metal things slaw together. Panicking, he tried to make the ball roll. After a few minutes of rolling, he heard a "click" at the bottom of the ball. He was sucked out in a red light. He dozed off for few seconds, before making out his surroundings. He was in an almost pitch-black room. The only dim light came from a small window. He looked at the floor and soon found the ball he was contained in. He stepped away from it, and slipped on another one. He looked behind him. A gigantic pile of balls like the one he was in were in a corner of the room. He had heard Jupiter say "Put it with the others". He stared at the open ball he was supposedly stored in before.

Maybe there were more pokémon inside the balls? Riolu was suddenly hit with a wave of realization. "They capture us and make us do as they please." THAT was how humans captured pokémon. With those… demonic capturing spheres. Riolu realized he had to get out of there, before they found him. If they found him, he would be captured again and this time they wouldn't let him out so easily. He made his way though the maze of capturing balls until he reached a big, rectangular gap on the wall that could appear as if he could go through it. He made it through the gap, and the rest of the building from then on was pitch black. He had no choice but to feel his way. After a few minutes, he stopped when he thought he heard two humans talking in a lit hallway. "…yeah, today we got a special one. A Riolu, they say." The second one laughed. "That's a rare one. It'll make a fine Lucario once we train it. They say those are very powerful." The other human paced around a bit. "Maybe it can lead us to the lake pokémon… then we can finally craft the red chain."

They both seemed to walk away. Riolu pondered for a minute. Lake pokémon? And what on earth was a red chain? He continued his way carefully through the lit corridors. After some time in the building, he had gotten used to the darkness and the metal structure. He managed to find a good hiding spot. At the top of the building, it was a sparkly spatial wallpaper with some weird looking machines at the back. It seemed much more like a decorative room than a room the humans would actually use. He hid in between the machines, and started to doze off to sleep.

After what seemed like hours, Riolu was awoken by the sound of footsteps. He opened his eyes and stepped further into the machines. "Where is Cleffairy?" Said a voice, enraged. Riolu recognized that voice. He looked through the machines. It was the young human he had found before! "Well, look who's here." Said a voice in front of him. Jupiter stepped up. "You've become famous in Team Galactic. I heard from Mars in the Valley Windworks. You really showed her, didn't you?" She grinned. The young human frowned. "Stop babbling! Give back the stolen pokémon!" Jupiter laughed. "You know, I REALLY wish I could, but I have two reasons. 1) I can't. 2) I don't want to."

The human reached into his pouch and pulled out a ball like the ones Riolu saw in the building. He was shocked. He captured pokémon too! Riolu had almost trusted him… he almost believed he was different. He shrunk back into the machines. Riolu heard the human throw the ball on the floor. "Go, Piplup!" He yelled. The ball opened, and a small, blue and white pokémon came out. It chirped at Jupiter. Jupiter grabbed one of her own balls. "Get him, Zubat." she said. She threw the ball, and a small blue pokémon with wings and no eyes came out. Rioli watched curiously as Piplup made Zubat faint in a couple of turns. "Way to go, Piplup!" Said the human. Jupiter grinned. "You think that is all I got? Skuntank, you're next!" She grabbed another ball and sent out a big, grey and white furry pokémon. The human looked worried. After a while, Piplup fainted. "No, Piplup!" He said. He looked at Skuntank. He grabbed another ball from his pouch. "Go Treecko!" He threw the ball. A green and red pokémon, with yellow reptilic eyes came out. After a tense moment, Treecko brought down Skuntank. "Yes!" cried the young human.

Jupiter quietly sucked the pokémon back into the balls. The young human patted Treecko on the head. He then looked at Jupiter. "You lost. Return the pokémon." Jupiter looked at him in the eyes. "Well, aren't you tough…? It's ok, tough. Our official pokémon statue investigation is finished. Mars has collected energy from the Valley Windworks. We're pretty much finished here." Jupiter breathed in. "I'll let you in on one little thing. Our boss is researching the myths of ancient pokémon. With the power of mythical pokémon, he will become the ruler of Sinnoh… I suggest you keep out of team galactic's affairs from now on. This is your last warning!" Jupiter threw a grey ball on the floor, and it coughed up smoke. When it cleared, she had disappeared. The young human looked at the floor. Three balls were on the floor. Treecko walked over and picked them up. He walked back and handed them over to the trainer. He picked them up. "This one's for Clefairy, this one's for Bunneary. But this one..." He stared at the pokéball with a light scratch on it. It seemed like it had been rolling around a lot. "It must be..." He was snapped back to reality by his Treecko poking him. He then took out its opened ball and sucked Treecko back in.


	4. Chapter 4

Riolu didn't know what to think. A pokémon capturer saved two pokémon from… another pokémon capturer? What? This world is strange enough. In his thinking, he ended up making noise back where he was. "What was that?" The human said out loud. He looked around for a little bit. He finally broke the silence. "Come on out, i won't hurt you." He said out loud again. "Yeah right," Riolu thought as he frowned. After a few seconds of silence, the human spoke. "I know it's you, Riolu." Rioli gulped. Goodbye world, this is the end. The human kept calling for him, walking around the room. This human is so annoying! Riolu thought through clenched teeth. "That's it. I'm going out and I'm gonna send him packing." Riolu growled to himself. He looked to see the human with his back to him.

He jumped from behind the machines. The human lifted his head and turned around. "Riolu! I'm glad you're safe. I thought they were holding you here for ransom. Or… worse." The human looked at the ground. Riolu huffed. What is this? Was this human… worried about him? "What is a pokémon so rare as you doing in Eterna city?" The human said to him. Riolu was silent. "I know Riolu can talk to people. You can tell me." He said kneeling down to his height. Riolu was uncomfortable with this demonstration of trust, coming from a pokémon capturer. He decided to physically speak one phrase to the human. "I don't like or trust you." He growled. The human seemed a bit stunned from hearing him speak. The human had a confused look. "You didn't answer my question." Riolu frowned. What kind of game is he playing? "I will not answer it." The human looked at him for a moment. He shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever. Anyway, why don't you like me? You think that woman was better?" Oh, he was really asking for it. "What do you think?" Riolu growled as he took a step back. "I have heard of you. I've heard what you all do. I've experienced it. You capture pokémon and take them as slaves, forcing them to fight other pokémon. That woman over there was not any different from you."

Hearing this, the human frowned. He stood up. He reached into his bag and slowly pulled out a capturing ball. He stared at Riolu, still frowning, and threw it to the ground. Treecko burst out, sounding his cry as he did so. "This is Treecko. One of my pokémon partners." Riolu huffed. ""Partners?" As if I will believe that." The human continued, ignoring Riolu. "I am not a "pokémon capturer". I am a trainer, pokémon trainer. I take two pokémon with me around to travel this region of Sinnoh. They are Treecko and Piplup, but he is fainted right now." Riolu did a cross-arm motion. "So you let pokémon faint in battle and then just get ride of them?" The trainer looked at Riolu, horrified. "I would never do that. Sure there are medicines I can give Piplup but they're for emergencies. And they're really bitter. He doesn't like them. I prefer to walk back to the pokémon center and heal him there. Dang, who told you all these stories about pokémon trainers? I can assure they're all fake." Riolu fell silent. It was common rumors among pokémon, there wasn't really a "someone". It was believed when a wild pokémon was caught, it was brainwashed and captured forever, and those who returned to the wild were never the same again. They came back confused. They forgot the ways of the wild and couldn't live on their own again.

Riolu didn't realize he was dozing for two minutes while the trainer just stood there with Treecko. Riolu was snapped back to reality after the trainer called him. Riolu looked up at him, his eyes full of worry. "What happened to you?" He asked Riolu. Riolu looked at the ground. So much had happened. But he couldn't really tell anyone, not yet. He sighed. "Listen. Do you have anyplace to stay?" Riolu looked at him. Yeah, he had nowhere to stay. But why would that matter? "If not, then what are you going to do? " Riolu jumped. "Are you kidding? I don't have any idea of what to do after… all this." He said, scared. The trainer looked around. "Over here is not safe either. What if you're chased by team galactic again?" Riolu looked troubled. What to do? Stuck in strange place with no stable place to go and danger roaming everywhere he went… it was not an easy decision. He lifted an eyebrow at the trainer. "Why do you care so much?" The trainer frowned. "I'm starting to not like you." Riolu looked at the wall. "I don't trust you, "trainer"." He said.

The human sighed and stood up. "My name is not "trainer". It's Lucas." Treecko, who was watching them without saying a word, did a cross-arm gesture. "Listen, you're a pokemon, so I need to get close up data on you. Would you be so kind as to let me study you thoroughly and then you'll never see me again?" Riolu thought for a moment. He needed that data. And Riolu needed to get out of there safely. "Let's make a deal." Said Riolu. The trainer stared at him. "Deal?" Riolu nodded. "You get me somewhere safe, in the wild, and on the way, I'll let you, um, "study" me. Deal?" He held out his paw. Lucas looked at him with a weird face. "What kind of deal is that?" Riolu held his paw with his other paw. "My arm is getting tired!" Lucas, seeing as he had no other choice to get the data, leaned over and shook his paw. "…Deal." He said, annoyed.

Riolu jumped up. "Alright! Let's get moving." He reached for the stairs, leading down. Lucas rolled his eyes and followed him. As they reached they reached the area outside, Riolu looked up at the dark sky and the shiny moon. He didn't notice it was night time. He looked back to Lucas as he came out of the building. He stepped onto the street. Rioli walked to the end of the street right of the Galactic building. "Hey, what's that?" He said, pointing to a huge statue of a pokémon. Lucas joined him. "That's the pokémon statue of Eterna City. It used to be the centerpiece of many festivals. It tells of the myth of the legendary pokémon who created Sinnoh." Riolu listened to him, marveled. "What is the myth about?" he asked Lucas. Lucas put a hand to his chin and the other to support it, in a thinking motion. "No one knows much about it except for old people, because it's really old. I do remember a saying from a book about this. It said "Two beings set free from the Original One". I'm sure this Original One is another powerful pokémon along with the two legendaries, but I don't know who." Riolu didn't know Lucas was so knowledgeable about myths and legends. He wanted to know more about it. Maybe he should ask about everything to Lucas, he might know. This might not be another ordinary human after all.


	5. Chapter 5

Riolu kept quiet through their walk through the Upper passage of Mount Coronet. His mind kept looking over thoughts here and there, but always following Lucas and at the same time, keeping his distance from him. Although Riolu could sense this human was definitely not like the normal ones, a human is a human, and caution is never too bad.

He instead looked over at his Treeco. He energetically walked beside Lucas, pointing at stones and muttering things here and there. Arceus, he was annoying.

To Lucas's other side, his Piplup waddled over the rocks, looking at the mud in disgust. Riolu could tell it was a female, and the Treeco a male.

After the Treeco caught him staring, he smiled enthusiastically and jogged over to Riolu. "Ah, great..." Riolu growled internally. "Hey there! I haven't talked much to you, huh?" He said, walking by Riolu's side. "My name is Darkness." Riolu looked at him oddly. The Treeco looked over to Lucas. "That's my nickname, Lucas calls me that. As for the Piplup-" the Pokémon in question practically materialized by Riolu's other side. "Yup, my name is Aleu! I'm Lucas's FIRST Pokémon." She pumped up her chest proudly and smirked at Darkness, who apparently seemed to glare slightly at her. Riolu noted something strange, but he couldn't stop the words from coming out once he said them. "That "Lucas", is he your master?" Darkness stared at him oddly. "Uh... No, he's our friend. We help each other out and band together, it makes us stronger." Aleu crossed her flippers. "He wants to fulfill his dream, and we help him."

Riolu looked over at the human in question. "His... Dream?" Darkness let out a small laugh. "That's something you'll have to ask him yourself. He explains it better." Riolu kept staring at Lucas.

He had his weird device in his hand, taking notes of the things around him. He seemed very dedicated to whatever it was he was doing. He perked up a bit and turned his head around. "Darkness? Aleu? What are you gossiping back there?"

Aleu's checks went red and she looked to the ground. Darkness crossed his arms and looked away. Lucas cocked an eyebrow. He then adjusted his hat, smiled and looked back, shaking his head. Riolu used this chance to go up to Lucas. The human looked down at the small canine creature and tilted his head.

"What is your dream?" Riolu asked him. Lucas seemed surprised by that question. He sighed and looked to the light at the end of the tunnel. "I... I want to become the best Pokémon master in the world. That's my dream." Riolu tilted his head. Lucas decided he should explain further. "I want to help people and Pokémon in need and make a difference in the world, explore unknown places, things like that. And Darkness and Aleu are there to help me." He nodded toward the two Pokémon in question. Both perked up and walked toward their trainer. "Why did you nickname them?" Riolu asked. Lucas tilted his head. "I... I don't really know exactly why, but..." He picked Darkness up and held him, much to Aleu's dislike. "It's a way of establishing a closer bond with Pokémon. Also I guess it's an easier way to recognize them, since there's many Treeco all around the world and many Piplup too. It gives them a cooler name." He smiled. "What about you, never got a nickname?" Riolu's face crunched up a bit. "No..."

Lucas thought for a moment. "How about I give you one?" Riolu looked at him curiously. He then slowly nodded his head. Lucas looked at him. "How about..." He looked down at the ground. Then his face lit up as an idea came to him. "How about Luke?" Riolu thought for a moment, then smiled slightly. He liked that name. "But why Luke?" He asked Lucas. Lucas smiled a bit. "Luke was my father's name. It's almost like my name was based on his. So from now on, you're Luke!" Darkness jumped from Lucas's arms to the ground. The he and Aleu ran up to him. Darkness started shaking his shoulders. "Alright! You got a nickname! You're officially part of the team now!" Aleu clapped her flippers together. "Conrgrats!" Riolu, now know as Luke, thought they were performing a sort of graduation ceremony. Lucas knelt down in front of the three Pokémon. "Now guys, don't annoy him." Luke smiled and shook his head. The other two Pokémon kept celebrating together. Lucas got up and started to walk on ahead. He suddenly stopped.

Darkness and Aleu looked at him weirdly. Luke came to his side. "What's wrong?" Lucas walked up to the giant rock blocking their path. "There's many more like this around here. We could use Rock Smash on these smaller rocks, but these... They're too big." Aleu groaned in annoyance. Lucas scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. "We'll have to go back and find another path." Darkness's head hung low as he turned around. Aleu followed him, her arms crossed. Luke was not understanding anything, but he went up to Lucas anyway. "Hey, can you actually talk to them?" Lucas looked back at him curiously. He cleared his throat to answer. "Well, if you mean talk-talk, with words, then not really. It doesn't mean I can't understand them though. In fact you're the only pokémon I can talk to."

Luke realized this, a shocked expression appearing on his face. Does that mean all Lucas heard when they clearly spoke to him was cries? That shocked him. It was almost like they spoke different languages but could still understand each other.

The rest of the walk through the tunnel was quiet. They made it out to the route outside Eterna city, then back onto the actual city. Stepping back on the Pokemon statue in the town's square, Lucas sighed. "So where now?"

Darkness got in a thinking position. Luke looked around a bit. After a while, Aleu raised her flipper, giggling. She waddled over to a shop in the town. She touched the wall, and then pointed to a large concrete tunnel at the end of the city, labelled "CYCLING ROAD". Lucas's eyes lit. "That's it! We saved that guy who owned the cycle shop right?" Aleu nodded.

Lucas jogged over to the door. Luke sighed in relief as the fresh wave of cool air coming from a machine at the top of the room hit him. The bicycle shop owner spun around to see who just came in. His face lit up when he saw Lucas's.

"Oh! It's you! The kid who saved me and my Clefairy! I clearly owe you, don't I?" Before Lucas could say anything, the man ran up to one of the bicycles. "I know! Since I'm having less customers, you should take one of my bikes and go around to advertise it! Here, it's yours, but make sure to travel all over Sinnoh with it!" Lucas looked stunned. "Oh wow, thank you... I was only going to ask to borrow it..." The man chuckled. "Oh, that's nothing compared to how grateful I am for you saving Clefairy!" He handed the bike to Lucas and scurried over to his Clefairy. Lucas looked over at Aleu. She just shrugged her shoulders. He then hummed slightly and picked up the bike, carrying it outside. He yelled one last "Thank you!" to the man before setting it on the sidewalk outside the shop.

The bike had two baskets on it, one on the front and one on the back. He picked Aleu and Darkness up and put them both on the back, since it was the biggest one. Luke just stared at them, observing them cheer in excitement. Lucas turned to Luke, but seemed a bit reluctant to touch him. Luke stared at him reassuringly. "Can you help me up or not?" He asked the boy impatiently. Lucas was snapped back to reality and bent down, giving his hand to Luke. He took it and climbed up his arm, keeping balance on his shoulder and jumping on the smaller basket in front of him. Lucas chuckled. "Your fur is so soft, it tickles." Luke frowned at him in such an adorable way that Lucas couldn't help but smile. This little Riolu wasn't so bad after all.

Lucas put his foot on one pedal, not accelerating yet. "I'm going to put it on fourth gear. We're gonna fly." He smirked. Luke saw he suddenly wasn't such a nice, well-mannered human anymore and that freaked him out a little. Meanwhile at the back, Darkness and Aleu were cheering like hooligans on a Pokemon contest. "Hold on tight, we're gonna cross the sound barrier!" He said, positioning himself in a way they were definitely going to fly when he stared riding. Luke didn't think twice, grabbing the brim of the basket tightly. Lucas rang the bell on the bicycle and stepped on the pedal with all his strength. Luke almost yelped as they were going top speed toward the "CYCLING ROAD".

Lucas sped by the open door, completely ignoring the women asking him to stop and watch the speed limit. It was dark for a few moments, but Luke could still feel the strong wind blowing his fur. A split second later, his world exploded in a range of colors and shapes as they got outside, on "CYCLING ROAD". The sky was a bright blue with many clouds. Below the street they were riding the bike in, the grass and trees shook slightly as the wind blew. Lucas yelled excitedly as he sped by many people, some trainers who challenged him to battle but he ignored them.

Darkness and Aleu were hectic, holding each other tightly. Luke couldn't help but smile broadly and gap at the world around him. "Can you feel it, Luke?" Lucas laughed while steering the bike through a curve. Luke slowly let go of the brim of the basket and spread his paws to touch the wind. He laughed. "Yeah, I can feel it!" He thought to himself.

Lucas held the front of the bike with one hand and pumped his fist in the air with the other one. "I'm the king of the world!" He yelled. He then started laughing uncontrollably. Darkness was hysterical at this point. Aleu clearly got tired of all the screaming and just held onto the basket while laughing. Luke pumped his fist along with Lucas and yelled "Then I'm the poké-king of the world!" Lucas chuckled. The bike sped a bit faster and they went through the same tunnel as before, but at the end of "CYCLING ROAD". Again, Lucas sped by the two women in the other "CYCLING ROAD" counter as they yelled for him to stop. He laughed until he realized the steep hill in front of him. He quickly pulled the brakes in a noisy screech, leaving a mark on the floor. "What happened?" Asked Luke. Lucas sighed in relief and pointed at what he pulled the brakes for.

It was a steep ledge, and falling down there in full speed wouldn't exactly guarantee that all of a living thing's limbs would be intact. Lucas cleared his throat. "So that's Oreburg city. We've already got the badge, so we don't need to go there anymore." He looked around. "Let's head that way." He pointed to a rock path that lead inside Mount Coronet's lower entrance. Darkness and Aleu seemed to agree, and Luke nodded his head. Lucas got off the bike and stated walking with it beside him.

Darkness approached Luke. "Hey, wasn't that fun?" Luke chuckled. "The most fun I ever had!" Aleu came up to him, raising her eyebrow. "What happened to all that "I don't trust humans" talk?" At the mention of this, Luke frowned at them. "I... I still don't trust them." Darkness looked at him strangely. "Then why did you take Lucas's hand when we rode the bike?" He asked him. Luke shrugged his shoulders. "Because I had to, we needed to get to a safer place faster." Aleu shook her head.

"No. Lucas didn't offer his hand to you and you decided to take it. He was skeptical of you at first, but then you ASKED him to help you. That's when he did. You had put your trust in him from the start." Darkness nodded. Luke's expression changed to a shock one as he realized what she said. He huffed. "That's nonsense. I don't trust humans, even the ones that seem nice." He walked farther ahead. He then tilted his head to look back at them. "Or Pokémon trained by them."

Aleu frowned at him as he walked away. "Mmf! Come on, Darkness, we don't need him." She started to walk a bit farther. Darkness followed her suit, but he still kept thinking that what Luke insisted wasn't true. Maybe he could trust this human with time. And with more time, even the Pokémon trained by him. Without any of them knowing, Lucas overheard them. It hurt him a little, but he still knew Luke never exactly meant everything he said. But who was he kidding? He wasn't his Pokémon. Getting close to him would only make it worse when the time came they would have to part ways. He knew he went farther than he should have when he nicknamed him. "I'm thinking too much, I should focus on the path." He muttered to himself, dragging the bike along the rocky ground at the base of the mountain.

He turned around to his Pokémon. "Let's go through Mount Coronet. I'm sure our path isn't blocked this time though." He stated simply. Darkness and Aleu nodded. Luke followed behind quietly as they once again entered the dark rock tunnel. There was water in some parts of the cave and it made an eerie sound when it dripped down on the rocks. Lucas suddenly stopped in his tracks. The Pokemon behind him looked around him to see what stopped him. "That guy again?" Lucas muttered to himself, though loud enough for Luke to hear it.

In between two stairs that were cut through the rock of the mountain stood a man that seemed much older than Lucas. His hair was a fainted pale blue and his eyes as cold as ice. He wore a strange thing that looked like a spacesuit, and seemed to always have his hands behind his back. A large yellow "G" was printed on his suit. He seemed to have been in the middle of climbing down the stairs. He stared at Lucas, his ice-cold eyes scanning him. After a few seconds of awkward silence, the man spoke. "According to one theory, Mt. Coronet is where the Sinnoh region began. In a newly created world... A world where only time flowed and space expanded... There should have been no strife. But what became of that world? Because the human spirit is weak and incomplete, strife has appeared... This world is being ruined by it... I find the state of things to be deplorable..." Having said that, he blinked once. "We shall meet again." He then simply continued through the path he was going through. Lucas warily stepped aside for him and he went through the small passage to the exit of the mountain.

Lucas just stared at him walk away for a moment until he was completely gone. Luke tilted his head. "Who was that?" Lucas turned to him. "Oh he's really a random guy that keeps bumping into me here and there. First lake Verity, then Eterna City, and now here. I think he's definitely related to team Galactic, with that "G" on his uniform. I don't really know what to think of him. But I have a strong conviction it's not out of coincidence we keep bumping into him." He concluded, picking up his bike from the floor. "Well, we have to keep going." Darkness and Aleu nodded.

Luke followed them, staying at the back. Ah, at this rate, they would take forever to find a safer place for him to stay. But what could he do about it? This trainer was his only shot at getting away from all this. Though this trainer... he was really something else, standing up to those Team Galactic thugs when clearly no one from the city did. He was supposedly young in human age, but he displayed enough maturity to take care of himself despite his age.

Then there were his two loyal knights. Darkness was very energetic and at some point hyperactive, but he had to admit his cheerfulness was contagious. He certainly knew how to make things fun. His most noted characteristic had to be his silly smile. Then there was Aleu. She was very girly and picky, but still lead the team. She seemed to be good friends with Darkness, though they'd argue at times. She definitely had as much energy as Darkness and he would run around anywhere she would. Then Luke wondered how he fit into all this. Darkness said he was a true "member of the team" when Lucas nicknamed him. But he wasn't in the team, not really. Though it would be pretty fun to travel all over with Lucas and his two Pokemon... Luke's eyes widened and he shook his head. What was he thinking? Siding with humans? Considering being trained by them? Something was wrong with him, that's for sure. Those guys, they're messing with his head. It's not like they actually considered the same thing he did, did they? Luke wouldn't give in, not to the human ways.


	6. Chapter 6

Luke squinted as Lucas moved out of his spot in front of him and the bright light of the end of the tunnel came into his eyes. He placed a paw over his eyes and they walked outside. Luke looked around and saw that this environment was much different than the one on the entrance of Mt. Coronet. There was a river running below them, the place covered with bamboo bridges that people could cross over. "This place is crawling with trainers ready for battle." Stated Aleu. Lucas made his own observation. "We're on a high cliff. Don't play stupid games like "jump-a-rock" and earn us a free trip to the hospital. Darkness, I'm talking to you." Darkness was pouting at the back, crossing his arms in annoyance. Lucas frowned. "Yeah yeah, whatever. Anyways stay with me, we're going to eventually have to battle people to get through." Luke approached Aleu. "What... exactly are battles?"

Aleu flinched. "Huh?! You don't know what pokémon battles are?!" Luke shrunk a bit. "Um... no, not really." Aleu sighed. "Ok, I'll explain. Pokémon battles are when two Pokemon engage in a battle and fight until one of them faints. It's very exciting though! That's what Lucas trains us to do. We do competitive battling." Luke listened to her explanation with interest. He said nothing, so Aleu figured she should keep talking. "We fight other trainers and their Pokemon that we find pretty much everywhere. It's a lot of fun, to me at least. You should try it! You know moves right? So you use those moves to battle with the opponent's Pokemon!" Luke's eyes lit up. Hey, maybe battling would be cool. Lucas was on ahead, when suddenly a mountain climber spotted him. "Hey! Kid! Can we battle?" He yelled from where he was.

Lucas seemed startled, but looked at Darkness, who was on his shoulder, and nodded at the man. "Alright, let's battle!" The man glanced at Lucas eagerly and reached to his belt and grabbed one of the capturing device Luke saw in the Galactic hideout. He pressed the button on it. The ball opened and a Geodude appeared, surrounded by red light. Lucas extended his arm to the ground. "Go Darkness!" Darkness used his arm as a bridge from his shoulder to the ground. He touched the ground in a very super-hero way, sounding his cry.

The mountain climber pointed at Geodude energetically. "Geodude, Defense Curl!" Lucas took a step back to give his Pokémon more space. "Darkness, Absorb!" Geodude curled himself into a ball, his body glowing blue. He then returned to normal, sounding his cry. It seemed that he was stronger somehow. Darkness on the other hand leaned forward, absorbing small lights from the ground and from Geodude. Geodude let out a growl and after Darkness was done, he fell to the ground, his body surrounded in red light and returning to its capture ball.

Lucas called out to Darkness. "Darkness, that's enough!" Darkness gladly retreated behind his trainer. The mountain climber reached to his belt for his second and last capture ball. "Go Onix!" He pressed the button on the ball and a large, rock snake-like creature appeared. Lucas's expression made it clear to Luke that he was in trouble. "Uh..." Lucas turned to Aleu, but she giggled and pushed Luke toward the giant rock snake. "Let him do it!" She signaled to Lucas.

Lucas seemed shocked. Aleu just nodded reassuringly, Luke with a "whatever you want to do" expression but with a pinch of fear in it too. Lucas reached for his "scanning machine", according to Luke. "Possible moves that Riolu know..." He scrolled down until his face lit up. He stared at Luke, conviction written all over his face. "Luke, try Force Palm!" Luke seemed confused about doing what he said for a moment, but decided to try it anyway. He drew his right paw behind him, starting to glow with light. The mountain climber realized this, and signaled to Onix. "Onix, Bind!" Lucas panicked a bit. "Go!" He yelled, and Luke's paw grew almost blinding with bright white light and in almost blinding speed, he hit Onix with it. Onix's body exploded in light. The Pokémon let out a single roar and fell to the ground, Luke falling on all fours a few seconds after it.

The mountain climber held his hands up in defeat. "Alright, alright, you win! Here you go." He popped a coin in Lucas's hand. Lucas just smiled and motioned for his Pokemon to come with him and continue the trail. Luke tagged behind, staring at his paw in disbelief. Lucas turned to Luke. "You were great! I didn't expect a Riolu to knock out an Onix in one turn!" Luke kept staring at his paw. Lucas was typing things furiously on his machine, probably about Luke's battle. Luke never knew that battling felt like this. The power, the pressure, the will to win. It felt... Incredible. He looked up at Lucas, his face full of wonder. Then Lucas understood. "...You've never done this before, have you?" Luke shook his head, still staring at Lucas. The human in question seemed stunned.

"But the way you used Force Palm, it seemed like you've done it millions of times before, but in fact you didn't." Luke nodded once, symbolizing agreement. Aleu stared at him in disbelief, as well as Darkness. After a few awkward seconds, Lucas cleared his throat. "So... Anyways, we should be getting to Hearthome city soon." He said while walking down the stairs that were cut through the rock to a grassy area that lead to a short tunnel. Luke climbed down the stairs after Darkness and Aleu. It was uncomfortably quiet. Lucas walked by a weird house. He stopped and read the sign outside. "Berry Master's House?" He reflected a bit. "We'll come by to see later. We need to get to Hearthome City." Darkness and Aleu nodded.

The quartet made it inside the tunnel. When Luke stepped outside, he didn't expect to see a city much larger than Eterna City. The sky was lined with tall buildings, and a gigantic circular building at the end of the city. Luke took the sights around him, marveled. Lucas suddenly let out a startled yelp. The three Pokemon with him turned around.

A small bunneary ran up to him, jumping around him and yelling its name. Lucas seemed like the most confused soul in the world. A split second later, a young woman came running up to him. She panted a bit, then grabbed one of the capture ball from her purse. "Thanks a lot, dude! Baby Bunneary, back into the Pokéball you go!" She held it up and bunneary was surrounded by red light and sucked back in.

Lucas looked at her in pure confusion. The young woman stared back for a few seconds until her face lit up. "Oh I'm sorry! I didn't even introduce myself! My name is Keira, I'm one of the judges in the Pokemon contests here in Hearthome city." She flicked her hair and winked. Lucas didn't seem at all affected but still acted amused. She cleared her throat. "Anyways, you should definitely come to the contest hall! Here, I'll show you!"

Lucas was about to protest, but she grabbed his wrist and started pulling him along through the streets. "But I need to-" Lucas started, but was quickly interrupted. "It's right this way!" She answered cheerfully. Darkness, Aleu and Luke were frantically chasing after him. They arrived at the doors of a giant colosseum-like building. Keira opened the doors and dragged Lucas inside. When the three Pokemon with the young trainer entered at last, a look of surprise took both Lucas's and Keira's faces. "Mom?!" Lucas exclaimed in disbelief.

An older woman at the counter of the contest hall heard him and turned around. She smiled and headed over to him. Keira had shock written all over her. "No way, Johanna is your mom?!" Johanna smiled at Keira. "It's been a while Keira." She looked back at Lucas, his jaw still dropped. "Well sweetie I was just bored back in Twinleaf then I decided to go on a little vacation to Hearthome by myself. Are you planning to participate in the contests?" Lucas returned to his normal self now. "Well not right now..."

Johanna crossed her arms. "Well if you are, not dressed like that!" Lucas stared at her blankly. She reached into her bag and pulled out an elegant suit. "It's a tuxedo, you'll look so adorable in it!" Lucas groaned loudly in annoyance. "Mom..." Keira giggled. "Johanna used to be a real star back in the day..." Lucas stared at her in disbelief. "How come you never told me?" Johanna shrunk back a little. "Oh, that's all in the past now, there's really no reason to talk about it."

Keira turned to Lucas. "Well, if you want to participate in any contests, I'll be there!" She winked and made a peace sign, then walked through one of the doors at the back. Lucas raised an eyebrow as he watched her go. "She's really flashy, huh?" Johanna smirked. "Oh I'm sure you like that type." Lucas turned to her, his eyes widening. "Mom!" Darkness let out a small giggle, earning a dreadful glare from Lucas.

Johanna laughed. "Oh I'm just kidding sweetie! I'll be going now. Enjoy your journey!" She hugged him and walked toward the door leading outside. Luke decided to mess with the young trainer. "Do you have a crush on her or what?" Lucas's glare was so harsh that Luke took a step back. "I'm 14. I'm quite sure I'm too young to date and I clearly don't like her." Luke smirked. "Then you like someone else?" Lucas's cheeks went red as a Cherri berry and he turned around, growling. "Shut up, little canine." Luke shared an amused look with Darkness. Aleu sighed. "Stop annoying him. Let's keep going."

Aleu reached up and pulled on Lucas's arm. He looked down at her and nodded. "Ok, let's keep goi- whoa, who's that?" He stared at something in the distance. Darkness and Luke looked around from either side of him. A woman with purple hair tucked in 4 vertical braids and a stunningly detailed purple dress stood by one of the tables. Some people were talking to her, like she was famous. Lucas stared at her. "I think she's famous or something, I have a feeling she's important." He took one step toward her, when she whipped round, dragging her dress with her. She turned to Lucas. "Oh I'm so sorry! Please excuse me. Are you entering a contest?" Before Lucas could respond, she continued. "Teheheh... Enjoy yourself, please! Incidentally, Fantina, the Hearthome City gym leader, also happens to be a contest expert." Lucas's eyes lit up at the mention of the words "gym leader". The woman chuckled lightly. "And you may ask yourself, how do I know this? Well, I am Fantina!" She twirled around. Lucas seemed mildly surprised. She gestured to Lucas. "You may challenge me, but not yet! You must become much stronger. Then, you may challenge me!" She headed for the door of the contest hall. Lucas drew himself into his own thoughts. "Much... Stronger? What does she mean by that? I could get "stronger" in lots of ways." He sighed and turned to Aleu.

"I don't really know what to do... Fantina says I need to become stronger, but..." Aleu placed her flipper on his hand. This instantly snapped Lucas back. "Yeah, you're right Aleu." He picked her up in his arms, tickling her. Aleu giggled, and darkness laughed a bit too. Lucas smiled. "We should go outside to think." With Aleu still in his arms, he walked outside, followed by Darkness and Luke. "Hey look!" Said Lucas curiously. He pointed to a huge sign standing over a tunnel similar to the one at the entrance of the city. It read "Amity Square". Darkness nodded toward it. Lucas put Aleu on the ground. "Ok, let's go check it out."

Lucas walked toward the building, followed by Darkness, Aleu and Luke in a single straight line. People whispering in the streets said he looked like a mother Golduck with all her Psyducks. Lucas ignored them and stepped inside the building. The woman at the counter saw him. "Hello!" Lucas walked over to the counter. "In Amity square, you can take a walk with a single Pokemon that is allowed according to our rules." Lucas stared unsuringly at the Pokemon. "Just one?" He asked. The woman stared at the three Pokemon with him. "Technically they are all allowed, but..." She reflected for a moment, but after seeing Lucas's pleading face, she whispered to him. "Hey don't tell the boss, but I'll let you all in. Don't attract too much attention though." Lucas's face was filled with happiness. "Thank you!" He yelled. The woman shushed and urged him outside, his Pokemon and Luke following him.

They stepped outside. It was alreadt nighttime. The square was a lush green grassy area, with flowers and trees filling the place. A small lake was in the middle of it, with a few bridges on it for crossing. A light breeze was blowing in the air. Darkness and Aleu yelled excitedly and started running around the space. Lucas tried to chase them frantically. "Guys, remember what she said! Not too much attention!" His warnings were hopeless and Darkness and Aleu played tag. Luke soon joined in. Lucas pulled the hair under his hat. "I'm getting too old for this." He got on his knees and laid down on the grass, taking off his hat, holding it with both his hands placed over his chest.

Luke, Aleu and Darkness stopped playing and headed over to him. Darkness scooted over to his side and sat down beside him. Aleu literally climbed on his chest. Lucas sighed and stared at the sky. "I didn't even notice. It's dark out now..." He commented. Luke sat on a nearby rock, staring at the stars and clouds. Lucas suddenly pointed at the sky. "That's the Guide Star, see?" Darkness and Aleu both looked up. Luke followed his finger to a faraway star that was visibly bigger and brighter than the others. "My mom said the Guide Star always points north. She says every time I look at it, I'll never be alone, because somewhere else in the world she will be staring at that same star…" He sighed, much to Luke's surprise. "I miss mom." He said to the starry sky. Luke observed Lucas's reaction with interest.

Darkness stood up from his spot and walked over to Luke. "Hey Luke, where's your mother?" Luke stared at him questioningly. "I… I don't have one." Darkness looked surprised. "What do you mean "you don't have one"? We all do, or else you wouldn't be here. You know, when a male pokémon and a female pokémon love each other very much-" Darkness was interrupted by Aleu running up to him and covering his mouth. "Darkness, let him be innocent for a little longer!" Luke stared at them like they had both grown another head. Aleu laughed nervously. "What he meant was, we all have a mother and father. Where are yours?" Luke shrugged his shoulders. "I told you, I don't have any parents. And if I do, I don't know who they are. I've been alone for as long as I can remember."

Luke didn't notice, but Lucas was staring intently at their conversation. He propped himself up on his elbows. "Then who guided you if you had no one?" He asked, although it sounded like it had a deeper meaning. He didn't notice everyone was staring at him. Luke thought for a while before answering. "I guess… no one. I always found my way through Aura."

Darkness looked at him questioningly. "Aura? What's that?" Lucas looked down at Darkness. "I have heard of it. They say it's a special energy that flows through everything that's alive. Some pokémon, or even people, have the power to use it to sense things… or so I heard." Aleu turned at Luke. "Riolu is the Emanation pokémon, so… do you have this ability, Luke?" Luke nodded slightly. "I can't feel everything around me though, because I'm too young, I think. Lucario are the Aura pokémon, they have stronger control of Aura."

Darkness seemed fascinated. "Wow! Show me an aura!" he exclaimed. Luke smiled and shook his head. "It's not "an aura", it's aura itself… I can't really explain it. Everything we see is surrounded by an energy. When people and pokémon use aura, they aren't drawing that power from themselves, it's more like they're borrowing the energy around us, harnessing it, and then when they release it, it goes back to the atmosphere. Get it?" Asked Luke. Darkness looked down at the ground. "I… I think so."

Aleu sat beside him on the same rock. "But… what did you mean by you guided yourself through aura?" Luke looked down at the ground. "Aura lets me see certain things, and tells me things about them. Like if something doesn't seem right, its aura tends to look ugly or just something feels off about it. That explains, Lucas…" he said to the boy in question, who stared back at him. "…why I didn't run away when you first approached me at the Pokémon center. Your aura… it felt sort of warm and inviting, not like the other humans around. You… felt different. Somehow. Those Team Galactic mean people's aura felt cold and dark and cruel. I knew at once they were bad people, because of that."

Lucas was fascinated, both by how Luke knew Team Galactic was bad just by feeling their auras, but also by what he said about him. Luke said Lucas's aura felt warm and inviting, yet he kept on with this talk that he didn't trust humans. Maybe, he thought, THIS human, he can trust. He was snapped back to reality by a voice on the speakers. "ATTENTION, AMITY SQUARE CLOSES IN 3 MINUTES!" Lucas rose from his position on the grass. "Come on guys, we should find somewhere to stay."


End file.
